Dealing with the (snake) haters

Just had an upsetting experience at work. Last night I put together a photo collage of all of my pets (we have quite a few) and included my beautiful snakes on it to hang up on my cubicle wall at work. My coworkers have pics of their kids and my pets are mine so I didn't see an issue. At three my boss came up to my desk and told me to take down my "offensive" photos, that things like that weren't allowed. That was one thing I guess if the company says I can't hang it up fine, but then she went further. "Five snakes, oh, I can't imagine what your place must be like that is so creepy." completely unnecessary in my opinion! I get that not everyone likes snakes but can't they respect that I do the way I respect their dislike?

TL; DR sometimes it's hard when non snake people try to make you feel bad for being a snake person [emoji17]

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

Smh. I feel you. I have friends with prejudice too. At this point we drifted apart because if you can't accept my pets then obviously you can't accept part of who I am. It's hard sometimes, but then I come home and see my babies and it's all better

Wow I'm sorry!! That's insane!!!

Sent from my LGLS665 using Tapatalk

I would mention that you wouldnt say that something like that about a cat a dog so please respect my choice of pet. And something along the lines of "ohh you have cats and dogs, the amount of hair in your house must be overwhelming and gross"

I know what you mean. I am lucky enough that that isn't a big deal where I am. But besides a rattle snake that would only do bodily harm here, snakes are not a big threat here, so I guess I am lucky. It's hard to have respect about someones comfort zone when they can't respect yours.

u should put up this pix in your cubicle.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i...DsrTxBF4pKP9IN

:twisted:


Edit: or this one. this one is cute.

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/59/59cb...4f0b72878b.jpg

:P

Cute posters!

Yep, these days people are constantly getting Offended.
We've become more narrow minded than the Victorians.

I'd be tempted to kick up a stink with those prissy co-workers, but its really not worth it.
Sounds like a lousy group of folks to work around, however. Maybe it is time to start looking for a change?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ax01

u should put up this pix in your cubicle.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i...DsrTxBF4pKP9IN

:twisted:


Edit: or this one. this one is cute.

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/59/59cb...4f0b72878b.jpg

[emoji14]

---

Lol! Those are both fantastic

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

I have one of my retics as my desktop background on my computer at work. I haven't had any complaints.

I wrote a song about snake haters!!! I hope you can get a laugh out of it. https://youtu.be/6XupxlOqjuw

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

What type of job do you have? Are you Part of a union or have a human resources representative? Were the pictures of your snakes offensive? Were they eating or coiled around a mouse/rat? If not then you are being discriminated against. I would find out what the company considers an "offensive picture". If snakes are not listed by name, then I would leave the pictures up. If your boss demands that you take them down, tell him or her that you'll take them down if everyone else has to take the pictures of their pets down. I would also go to your HR representative and let them know what your boss said about your home, and that it made you feel uncomfortable and discriminated against and that you fear that he/she will now treat you differently because of their perception of you. I don't know what the labor/discrimination laws are where you are, but here in CA, that would not fly.

If you are part of a job that has an HR department I'm sure you can call and complain. If there is nothing that states you can't have pictures in your area of work then your boss is telling you to bring them down that can be discrimination


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm working on something like that here. It's a long-term project, and not at work, but a community issue. I've decided that I will be breeding - in a few years, when my little slithers are old enough. I've discovered a massive amount of anti-snake prejudice in this area. So far I've sounded out two out of three of the high schools within an hour drive of here, and gotten some strong interest in accepting snakes as classroom pets - with the clause that I get to check in on them to make sure they're being taken care of properly, and that if the schools end up unable to keep them for any reason, they come back to me. So, a few years down the road, that's the plan - to breed my snakes and donate the offspring as educational classroom pets. There's been interest from at least one Junior High, as well. I can't count the number of times I've had people tell me that snakes are 'evil'. So here's hoping that education can work from the bottom up, if it can't work from the top down.

This is all because of the political corectness nonsence, If someone offends me i just shirk it off and chalk it up to them being stupid, and if my opinion offends someone , which i never do on purpose, then i tell them, well lets debate the issue. We have to grow thicker skins. If someone doesn't like my pets, or how many i have, then too darn bad for them. They don't live withme and never will. I'm too old to change for anyone, and never would. So they can kiss my snake shed.

Coming from a family that still kinda detests my slithery hobby, I can understand this 100%. It can be hard blocking out the negativity when it comes to these beautiful animals, but education and persistance is key. If your boss finds it offensive but the policy does allow all pictures of animals, then take it to your HR if you have one. Then, talk to your coworkers. Bring up catchy facts about your animals if you can. Talk about them constantly by name instead of species. Get them used to you talking about them. Pique their interest and aim for curiosity. Look for people who you can relate to and use 'code' words. A little weird, I know, but that was the only way my sister could ask me about my snakes without my mom freaking out at first. We used 'ball puppy' instead of python.

My mom has gotten so used to me talking about my scalie babies that she now asks me about it. Took her about a year or so of using codewords and to constantly assure her that they will not eat me. But she's coming around.

Just my take on how to deal with people like that.

Here's another image for you to use.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01...1f32b8424f.jpg

Put that picture right back up. If all it has is snakes on it, you can't be told to remove it. I highly doubt your company has a policy against snake pictures. You should figure out what the phobia is called where you scared of children, then make them take down all the kid pictures.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/ma...ticlekey=12359 pedophobia, the fear of children

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nemoluna

Just had an upsetting experience at work. Last night I put together a photo collage of all of my pets (we have quite a few) and included my beautiful snakes on it to hang up on my cubicle wall at work. My coworkers have pics of their kids and my pets are mine so I didn't see an issue. At three my boss came up to my desk and told me to take down my "offensive" photos, that things like that weren't allowed. That was one thing I guess if the company says I can't hang it up fine, but then she went further. "Five snakes, oh, I can't imagine what your place must be like that is so creepy."

---

But I have a mouse on my desk and no one is complaining about that!

I get it. My boyfriend bought my snake for me and the night before we got her, his mom and aunt started yelling at him for it. He's 26 and the creature was going nowhere near her house so he got her for me anyway. But for the rest of the night I had his family telling me how disgusting snakes are and how anyone who owns one is stupid.

Quote:

---

If you can't accept my pets then obviously you can't accept part of who I am.

---

Best thing I have ever heard.

My grandparents-both sides of the family- are really anti-snake. When we told them about my first snake, they were freacked out, and kept saying how it was "going to strangle me while I was asleep" and then went on a rant, telling me about this three year old was killed by a retic, and how I was next.
I was like, but a retic isn't a ball python :| But they failed to grasp the difference in size.
They got freacked out when we told them about the second Ball. How we were all gonna catch dieseases and stuff.
We havnt told them about the Burm though. Not planning too. Who knows what they will come out with next.

Its just because they are uneducated, and do not understand the beauty of these creatures. I've never been bit by a snake -yet *touch wood*- but I have been bitten by the gecko.

Geckos are dangerous, people!

My friends are anti-snake too, and well, almost anti-EveryPetIOwn. I get the 'I'm gonna kil your spiders' or 'you have wierd pets' So what! Atleast I am interested in them. I'm allergic to allmost every fluffy thing, so reptiles and inverts are obviously going to the animals I own.